"It's not about hitting golf balls and this and that, it's about giving a kid a chance who wants to play organized sports that a lot of people said no to," Ollie said. "And if we can do that, it's something great to be able to contribute to someone else."

With a new contract, Ollie will continue to contribute to the UConn basketball program for the foreseeable future. Even though the NBA might seem an enticing option for coach who just won a national championship in only his second season, Ollie said Connecticut is home.

"Not at all," he said. "I want to be here at UConn."

Ollie still didn't completely slam the door on one day exploring the NBA, just not right now.

"I don't know about the future," he said. "The only thing I can do is take care of today. I got a five-year contract, and I believe I'm going to be here all five years. That's my motto, that's where I want to be at. I want to be here with my family. I want to see my daughter graduate high school here in Connecticut. And whatever happens is going to happen. There's going to be speculation ever year, but the kids know that I have their back, their best interest in mind."

So why did it take so long to strike a deal if Ollie wanted to stay?

"It takes time, you want everything right," Ollie said. "Warde (Manuel) and I were busy. When we sat down ¦ when we sat down, we got it done. I think both sides wanted to make it right. It was just a point of going out and doing it right, talking through all the terms. It's something that's complicated. It's not something that's just easy and you got to work through all of the provisions."

The same can be said of trying to defend a championship. Ollie and his coaching staff will be back on the road next month looking for future Huskies.

"Definitely July is a recruiting month and we got to go back out," he said. "It's good to go back out there and see the talent. Not even recruit, it's about evaluation. I think the best programs are the programs that evaluate the best. We try to evaluate talent that will fit in our motto here at UConn."

The Huskies have a few new additions to the program, including JUCO guard Sam Cassell Jr., who is already on campus. Freshman Daniel Hamilton and Rakim Lubin are expected to arrive later in the month.

"We want to have them take classes, build up there credits, so they have the opportunity just like three of our other student athletes had the opportunity to cross the stage and get their diplomas a couple weeks ago," Ollie said, about Shabazz Napier, Niels Giffey and Tyler Olander. "That's what they are building towards and also we get an opportunity to work out with them, too, get in the gym and understand them and they understand us.

"A lot of guys look at us a little crazy because you know we push them even in this month. Even in early June we push them because we know if we push them now later on down the road it will be second nature to them, and they'll understand what it takes to be an UConn basketball player."